Wow! Thanks for all the great advice! It's wonderful to have so many suggestions. I did pick up some liriope today, but I didn't have any luck finding turk's cap or wax myrtle, so that'll have to be another trip. debndal: landscape mix was what I actually bought (before reading your post) which was purely a lucky guess because I have no clue which soil mixes are "heavy" and which are "light." I'm a little confused by your comment about not using too much on the roots. If I'm doing a raised bed, wouldn't it be uniform thickness everywhere? Or do you mean that I shouldn't let the bed extend out too far from the trunk? bossjim: thanks for the nursery recommendations. Sounds like it's time to pay a visit to Seabrook. Just out of curiosity, when you built your raised bed, what material did you use for the sides? txgardenlady: I do have some vine by the back fence that looks like it might be poison oak, but the vast majority of the ground vine is something else. Whatever it is, it is very, very invasive -- all over trees, fencing and ground. Pulling it up is quite empowering; it feels like "freeing" the ground from the evil vine :)

Don’t paint yet. Right now I really like the wall color (as shown on my monitor) and I think your gray couch will work well with it. Throw pillows on the gray sofa will tie it all in…an inexpensive option while you decide what to do. One of my favorites…Kravet latika…lots of gray, but enough of your wall color in the mix. I love the two colors together….

The thing about paint colors is that a color that looks fantastic in one room looks horrible in another. It all depends on the light. Some very popular grays recommended on here were major duds in my house. A gray with blue undertones we loved in the LR was a definite no in a bedroom on the other side of the house. Grays in particular have undertones, blue, green and brown (the greige colors) being the the biggies. Do you have an accent color going on somewhere? That might be a good undertone to try out. I'd try that "Misty" color that Sophie posted if you're looking for a slightly blue-gray. Depending on how dark or light you want to be, "Sheep's Wool" or "Stonington Gray" might work. Were I you, I'd take a trip to the paint store and pull every color you think is even possible and tape them on your wall. Be sure to choose some colors that are outsiders - too dark, too light, too some probably-not undertone, even a color you hadn't considered like the "Simply White." Look at them in the morning, afternoon, and night. Look at them on a sunny day and a grubby day. Start pulling off the no-goes. When you get it down to a reasonable number of possibles, then buy some sample size cans and preview larger swatches on the actual walls, both in the kitchen and in the adjacent rooms. You might want a lighter version the hallway. You don't want to be like me when I first tackled the LR. The color I thought was "the one" just wasn't when I painted the whole room. Either was my next go. I painted that stupid room 3 times before I got it right! (This is what we finally decided on for the LR that was terrible in BR on the other side of the house.)

I'm doing some renos to a 30 year old house that used to be my parents' house. One decision leads to another and next thing you know you're redoing the whole house! I have ordered white vinyl replacement windows (no dividers) and am now regretting it, but it's too late. They are installing as I speak. I need help deciding what color to paint the trim. Please see the photo of the house below, taken before the new white window install. The second photo is just to show you what the new front doors will look like (stained wood with 6 lights, but double doors) I've thought of using white on the trim, but do I try to match the windows, go warmer and creamier, or something else? I'm all "decisioned" out!